5 More States Join Antitrust Lawsuit Seeking to Block Nexstar–Tegna Merger

Five more states have joined an antitrust lawsuit that sought to block the Nexstar–Tegna broadcast giants merger, after a court order last week put the deal on hold while the litigation is ongoing.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on April 30 that attorneys general from Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont have joined the suit, bringing the total to 13 plaintiffs.

“This is not controversial stuff—this merger is illegal and will give Nexstar and Tegna the ability to control and raise prices, fire journalists, and dominate the media landscape,” Bonta said in a statement.

“We welcome our sister states into the fray and look forward to fighting alongside them,” he added, noting that the states’ participation turned the suit into a bipartisan effort.

Separately, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said on April 30 that his office has reached an agreement with Nexstar that would safeguard the independence of local journalism and ensure residents will have a choice in local news and programming if the merger proceeds.

Under the agreement, Nexstar will uphold editorial, staffing, and production independence at two broadcast stations in Columbus and Cleveland, where it would own dual stations after the merger.

Nexstar also agreed to keep separate news teams at each station and preserve existing local programming levels, according to a statement issued by Yost’s office.

In a post on X, Nexstar defended the merger deal, saying that it would help to boost the amount of local news coverage across many markets.

“In today’s media landscape, multibillion-dollar technology companies compete directly with local broadcasters while facing none of the same ownership, reach, or size constraints, putting untenable pressure on the economic model that supports local news,” the company said.

“The alternative to this deal is not more independently owned outlets—it’s the demise of your local broadcast station.”

The merger deal was first announced in August 2025 and approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 19. A coalition of attorneys general from eight states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia—later filed a lawsuit to stop the merger, saying it would concentrate local TV ownership.

On April 17, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy Nunley granted the states a preliminary injunction, finding that they were likely to succeed in their claims that the merger would reduce competition in ​local television markets and make it difficult for distributors like DirecTV to reject Nexstar’s demands for higher prices.

Under the preliminary injunction, Nexstar is required to allow Tegna to continue operating as a “separate and distinct, independently managed” business unit until the antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

Nexstar has said that it intends to appeal the ruling.

Nexstar already operates more than 200 owned or partner stations in 116 markets and runs national networks, including The CW and NewsNation. The acquisition would give Nexstar control of an additional 228 broadcast stations in 132 local markets and increase market concentration in more than a dozen areas, according to court documents.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said on March 19 that Nexstar would own less than 15 percent of stations through the merger. He said the approval was contingent on “certain concrete conditions,” including “divesting a number of stations, increasing localism, and affordability steps.”